Code of Conduct

RX Radio Code of Conduct

Here is RX Radio’s Code of Conduct. It explains the aims, rules and culture of RX Radio. All members of the team agree to the code of conduct.

Why do we do this? As the Code says below:

“RX Radio wants our team to reach out to our loved ones on air the best way we can. For us to do this, we need to follow the rules of the radio station to make it a safe, fun and special place. This code of conduct reminds us on how we all should behave and act in a way that makes sure we can do what we aim to do. “

When you join RX Radio, you will learn about this Code of Conduct, and once you understand and agree to it, you will be asked to sign it.

Who are we?

RX Radio is a radio station by and for children based at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. It is run by us, the RX Radio team, for the children in the hospital, their parents/caregivers, the hospital staff and the general public that can listen to our broadcasts. The radio helps us and our loved ones to meet, share ideas, question others, tell stories, have fun and build a happy radio network.

What do we aim to do?

The aim of the radio is to make us feel better and get better. We do this by bringing our families and friends together to talk, listen and act on things that are important to us. This we see as our right as children.

We aim to help sick children cope with being in hospital.

We aim to help parents and loved ones cope with us being sick.

We aim to help staff take better care of us.

We aim to use the radio to find out how we can help everyone make the hospital a better place.

RX Radio wants our team to reach out to our loved ones on air the best way we can. For us to do this, we need to follow the rules of the radio station to make it a safe, fun and special place. This code of conduct reminds us on how we all should behave and act in a way that makes sure we can do what we aim to do.

Why do we need rules?

We need to trust one another to do what is right. RX Radio members must all act in a way that shows that we are proud of our radio and that we will not do anyone or the radio any harm.

Just like other important radio stations in South Africa that have rules, our radio also has rules. These rules are for the RX Radio team members including the staff, reporters, interns, apprentices and volunteers, and are there to protect us and see that our needs are met. This means that we need to choose our words, music and ideas carefully, with the rules in mind, so that we do not make others unhappy or cause them pain. We can’t use bad or hateful language on air or between us.

If we break the rules the RX Radio management can stop us from being part of the team until our poor behaviour is corrected. If our behaviour is very bad, we can be asked to leave the radio station forever.

Our respect for others

We need to respect our listeners and team members and know they are special. We need to remember that everyone is different, has different ideas and dreams. This is what makes our radio a special place. When we respect one another, we know that we will grow to be better people. We know we need to show one another love and care to make our radio a happy experience.

When we find things difficult we need to talk to one another with kindness and respect to make things better. We don’t want our team members to ignore one another, fight, talk down or badly of someone or scream at one another. This will make our radio a horrible place to work at. At all times we want to:

listen to one another

respect one another’s ideas and the space we work in

value where we come from and what we bring as team members to the radio

know what we say and do affects other people’s feelings

Be transparent, honest and truthful

We always need to be honest, transparent and truthful in relation to things that involve ourselves and RX Radio. For example, if as a RX Radio member, we are offered an opportunity by someone else such as another radio station or other institution to be interviewed, broadcast as a presenter, be part of training or offered an internship, we should share this offer with RX Radio management before we accept it, so the station is aware. RX Radio will always support the growth of all its members but we need to remember that we got that opportunity not only because of our own skills and capacity but also because of our participation in RX Radio.

If you are not sure if you actions are transparent, honest and truthful, ask the following questions to see if we are behaving the way we should be:

Is my behaviour true to my radio team or am I being selfish?

Is my behaviour taking opportunities away from other team members?

Is my behaviour true to RX Radio or am I doing things to favor myself, family or friends?

Is my behaviour true to the community or am I doing something that would make the radio look bad?

If I can answer YES to any of these questions I should stop the behaviour and speak to the manager of the station.

Social media

RX Radio uses social media to reach lots of people. Our behaviour on social media needs to be fair, correct and honest. If we don’t do this our radio will get a bad name. We need to understand that we must not use social media for ourselves and that we need to apply all the station rules to social media as well. If we post something on social media we must know that it is not private, that many people could read it and that if we use bad words, it could upset the public and give our radio a bad name.

Protecting what belongs to our radio station

Everything we say, do or write as RX Radio team members, belongs to RX Radio. This is called Intellectual Property. It is protected by a law called copyright. Other people, like authors, artists, designers and companies might also have copyright on their intellectual property. We need to understand that we may not copy anything that is protected by copyright unless the person who has copyright gives us written permission. If we copy things illegally it is called plagiarism. This is very bad behaviour and is against the law.

General behaviour of a RX Radio team member

We should always be on time when we are on air.

We should always behave professionally, dress neatly and be clean.

We should show commitment to our radio.

We should have our work ready when asked to do something.

We should be on time for meetings.

We should finish all our jobs.

We should only use the Wi-Fi for radio work and never for personal things.

We should know that using the Internet to look up bad things is wrong.

We should only broadcast appropriate music which doesn’t have swear words or hate speech in the lyrics.

We should have an adult check our broadcasting material and use music that has been checked.

We should never drink alcohol, use drugs or smoke at the radio station.

We should not eat or drink in the station if it is going to damage equipment.

We should not speak on air about the station without an adult giving us the thumbs-up.

We should let management know if another station wants us to be on their radio.

We and our parents/caregivers must sign a consent form which allows us to use the RX Radio facilities as reporters, to be photographed, filmed, recorded, interviewed or to partake in any form of media coverage or social media.

We should always respect the equipment in the station and tell management if something is broken or missing.

We should tell management when we are leaving the premises.

We should leave the station clean at all times.

We should respect others when they are broadcasting.

We should not give the key to anybody but the staff at the station.

We should let management know if we are unable to get to the station.

We should make ourselves available for any extra training which helps to improve how we work at the station.

Bad behaviour

We may not make someone feel left out or different or bully them or use hurtful actions. To check our behaviour we need to ask these questions:

Is a person touching you or talking to you in a way that is making you feel scared or uncomfortable?

Is a person using pictures or words on air or in the studio that makes you unhappy?

Is a person acting strange, hurting you, making you feel unsafe or breaking things in the station?

Is a person making you feel small or silly or screaming at you?

Is a person is taking things from the station that does not belong to them?

Is a person teasing you or calling you names?

Here is a quick checklist to help you

Am I following the rules of the radio station?

Am I being considerate of other people’s feelings?

Am I making a good impression?

Am I a good example to others?

Does my team at the radio station trust me?

Am I doing my very best?

It the answer is NO to any of these questions, I need to stop and think about what I’m doing and talk to management about my behavior and how I can do a better job.

I have read the RX Radio Code of Conduct above. I confirm that I understand it and accept that if I do not follow what it says, there will be consequences for me as a member of the station, depending on the severity of my bad behaviour.